Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

Slide 1:

1. There was a movement in Italy that caused an explosion in creativity in art, writing and thought that lasted for 300 years from 1300-1600
2. Historians call this period the renaissance, term means rebirth, and it refers to a revival of art and learning
3. Educated men and women in Italy hoped to bring back the culture of classical greece and rome
4. This led to new innovative styles of art and literature
5. Also led to new values

Slide 2:

• Renaissance spread from northern italy to the rest of Europe
• Italy was the birthplace of the renaissance for three reasons

1. Thriving cities
2. Wealthy merchant class
3. Classical heritage of Greece and Rome

Slide 3:

1. Overseas trade led to a growth of large city states in northern italy
2. Region had many sizeable towns
3. Northern Italy was urban, while the rest of Europe was mostly rural.
4. Since cities are often places where people exchange ideas, they were an ideal breeding ground for an intellectual revolution

Slide 4:

1. 1300s the bubonic plague struck these cities killing up to 60% of their population.
2. This brought economic changes because there were few laborers, so they could demand higher wages.
3. With fewer opportunities to expand, merchants began to pursue other interests, such as art

Slide 5:

1. Wealthy merchant class develop in each Italian city state.
2. Cities like Milan and Florence were relatively small, so a high percentage of people could be involved in political life
3. Merchants dominated politics and unlike nobles they did not inherit social rank.
4. Merchants believed they deserved power and wealth because of their individual merit
5. Belief in individual achievement will become important during this time period.

Slide 6:

1. Since the 1200 florence had a republican form of government,
2. But during the renaissance florence came under the rule of a powerful banking family, the (MEHD-ih-chee) Medici
3. They bad bank offices throughout Italy and in major cities of Europe
4. Cosimo de medici was the wealthiest European of his time

Slide 7:

1. In 1434, he won control of Florence’s government.
2. Did not seek political office for himself, but influenced members of the ruling council by giving them loans
3. For 20 years he was the dictator of Florence

Slide 8:

1. Cosimo de Medici died in 1464, but his family continued to control Florence.
2. His grandson: Lorenzo de Medici came to power in 1469.
3. Known as Lorenzo the magnificent, he ruled as a dictator but kept the appearance of having an elected government (similar to Iraq and Russia)  

Slide 9:

Renaissance scholars looked down on the art and literature of the Middle Ages

wanted to return to Greek and Roman learning.

• Artists and scholars of Italy drew inspiration from the ruins of Rome
• Western scholars studied ancient Latin manuscripts that were preserved in monasteries
• Christian scholars in Constantinople fled to Rome with Greek manuscripts when the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453

Slide 10:

1. Started studying classical texts
2. Study of classical texts led to humanism, intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements
3. Humanists influenced artists and architects to carry on classical traditions
4. They also popularized the study of subjects common to classical education, such as history, literature and philosophy.
5. These were known as the humanities

Slide 11:

1. People demonstrated their piety by wearing rough clothing and eating plain foods
2. Humanists suggest you can enjoy life without offending god
3. Wealthy enjoyed material luxuries, good music and fine food

Slide 12: 

1. Most people remained catholics, but most were secular: worldly, rather than spiritually
2. Concerned with the here and now
3. Even church leaders became more worldly
4. Some lived in beautiful mansion, threw lavish banquets and wore expensive clothes

Slide 13:

1. Church leaders made their cities beautiful by spending large amount of money on art
2. They became patrons of the arts by financially supporting artists
3. Merchants and wealthy families were also patrons of the arts
4. Wealthy demonstrated their importance by having their portraits painted or donating art to the city to place in public squares

Slide 14:

1. Renaissance writers introduced the idea that all educated people were expected to create art
2. Ideal individual strove to master every area of study
3. A man who excelled in many fields was praised a universal man. Later called renaissance man
4. Renaissance painters used a technique called perspective, shows three dimension on a flat surface

Slide 15: 

1. Baldassare Castiglione wrote a book called The Courtier that taught who to become a renaissance man
2. Young man should be charming, witty, be well educated, dance, sing, play music, and write poetry.
3. Also be a skilled rider, wrestler and swordsman

Slide 16: 

1. According to The Courtier, upper-class women also should know the classics and be charming, but not seek fame
2. Expected to inspire art, but not create it.
3. Upper class women were better educated than medieval women, but had little influence in politics

Slide 17: 

1. Some women such as Isabella d’Este did exercise power
2. She married the ruler of another city state: Mantua..
3. She built a famous art collection and was skilled in politics.
4. When her husband was taken captive in war, she defended mantua and won his release

Slide 18:

1. Emphasis was starting to focus on individuals, so painters began painting prominent citizens
2. Michelangelo Buonarroti used a realistic style when depicting the human body
3. Donatello made sculpture more realistic by carving natural postures and expression that reveal personality
4. Revived a classical statue of david, a boy, whom according to the bible, became a great king

Slide 19:

1. Leonardo Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, inventor and scientist.
2. Interested in how things worked
3. Filled his notebooks with observations and sketches and then incorporated his findings in his art

Slide 20: 

1. Painted the Mona Lisa, woman seems so real writers try to explain the thought behind her smile
2. Also painted the last supper

Slide 21:

1. Sofonisba Anguissola (ahng-GWEES-soh-lah was the first woman artist to gain an international reputation
2. Known for her portraits of her sisters and of people like king Philip II of Spain

Slide 22:

1. Some techniques are still used today.
2. Writer dante, wrote in vernacular, his native language, instead of Latin, his native language was Italian
3. Renaissance writers wrote either self expression or to portray the individuality of their subjects

Slide 23:

1. Francesco Petrarch (Pee-trahrk) was one of the earliest and most influential humanists
2. Some call him the father of the renaissance humanism
3. A great poet, he wrote in both Italian and Latin.
4. Wrote sonnets- 14 line poems
5. Most about a mysterious woman named Laura, who was his ideal.  (little is known except she died in the plague)

Slide 24: 

1. Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio (BOH-kah-CHEE-OH) is best known for the decameron,
2. Series of realistic stories about worldly young people waiting in a rural villa to avoid the plague sweeping through florence
3. Decameron presents both tragic and comic views of life.
4. Uses humor to illustrate the human condition

Slide 25:

1. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli examines the imperfect conduct of human beings.
2. The prince examines how a ruler can gain power and keep it in spite of his enemies,
3. Began with the idea that people are selfish, fickle and corrupt

Slide 26: 

1. To succeed in such a world, a prince must be strong as a lion and shrewd as a fox
2. Might have to trick his enemies and even his own people for the good of the state
3. Machiavelli was not concerned with what was morally right but what was politically effective.
4. Believed sometimes princes must mislead people and lie to his opponents
5. Suggest for a prince to do this he must be crafty enough to overcome suspicions and gain the trust of others

Slide 27:

1. Vittoria Colonna was a female writer with fame and wrote about personal subjects
2. Exchanged sonnets with Michelangelo and helped Castiglione publish The Courtier
3. Own poems express personal emotions, like her husband being off to battle
4. Toward the end of the 15th century renaissance ideas spread north from Italy